Rolling up Friday from South Florida and sadly getting a speeding ticket in the process, we headed into the con Friday morning. Lets break it down:
Parking:
This was my first mistake not fully recognizing how big Megacon has become. Back in the day, you could show up early and park in the main lot by the convention and then take the shuttle over to the con and you were all set. Now, you should pre purchase your parking and if you want to park in that closest lot. So we wound up parking in the University of Central Florida lot and then taking a very long shuttle ride over to the con. While the excitement of the con in the morning does not make this a big deal- after a day of Mega-Conning, that shuttle ride back to the parking lot is a bit much. So Purchase your parking early!!!!
Badge Pick up
Once inside the Orange County Convention Center, you need to get your badge. Once again, purchase your badge ahead of time. Showing up to the con without a badge is insanity and now more than ever, the con has been sold out ahead of time with the exception of Thursday and Sunday.
So once inside, you gotta get in a line for security to get your bag checked and once through you gotta find the line where your tickets are: VIP, Weekend Badge, One day only... and for us Media. I attend alot of conventions and Megacon has the best and most efficient Media Badge pick ups. Once you have your badge, you still not ready to get in tho. You have to activate the badge- even media badges. Its not a huge issue but with so many people in the convention center and wi-fi is pressed and you may be there a bit waiting for the badge to be activated.
Entry and The Floor
Once that badge is activated, you can enter onto the floor. If you had done any pre orders for the con: lanyard, t-shirts, comics, etc... you should get it NOW. The longer you wait, the longer the lines are and you will lose precious time on the floor and trust me you will be in some long lines anyway during the convention.
Now onto the floor.... the main floor downstairs is huge and divided into several different areas. Its best to download the Megacon App and have the floor map handy. AND you need to have a plan- especially if you are a one day only person. You need to schedule where you want to go and who you want to see. If you want to go to a panel, you may need to line up an hour or so ahead of time to make sure you get a seat. Event can often overlap or run close together in time so you need to plan ahead of time.
Celebrity Guests and Panels
This is the area where over the past few years Megacon has really stepped up. The celebrity guest list has exploded with A list stars in the fields of movies, cartoons, anime, and comics and this year was truly incredible. While we did not attend the huge even with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christenen, we did attend the event with Tom Hiddleston which we had to pre-pay for to secure a seat. Other panels with popular guests you have to line up early to make sure you get a seat. We were able to get seats for the Loki Panel with Tom Hiddleson which was amazing, as well as the panel with Paul Bettany, and the cast of Stranger Things and My Name is Earl
Overall Megacon is one of the best cons in the southeast and surpasses DragonCon in Atlanta because of its focus on celebrities. If you plan to go, buy tickets and parking ahead of time, stay at a local hotel so you can stop and rest over the 4 days, pack snacks in your bag because food on the floor is hella expensive. But the time you will have with your friends, family, and fellow nerds and Blerds is well worth every dollar spent.
Links below to my YouTube for events during Megacon
https://www.youtube.com/@bengalfanatl
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